Growing up in the projects of Columbus, Ohio, in the '70s and '80s meant that the time would always come when you were going to deal with police harassment. It was nothing for the police helicopter to fly low enough to flash their ample light into the window of our home.
One of the things that I always struggled with was our inability, to tell the truth about the harassment to the proper authorities without proof. Their word against your word was still the deciding factor concerning the outcome of the verdict. In this day and time, there are video cameras on every cellphone and nearly every building. Police officers are now wearing body cameras, and data is uploaded to protect the citizen and the officer from false accusations.
Peace of mind is the only way that I can describe the use of a camera by a citizen who is afraid of an inappropriate arrest or murder for so much as a forgery warrant. Knowing your rights as a citizen are also a sample of the peace that is brought about by the government recognizing issues that come with policing.
I do not believe for one minute that there are only good people in my city or any other city in this world for that fact. That is why the police are needed and expected by the citizens of every municipality. What I know to be true is that people have the right to due process in a court of law. I understand that a police officer, along with many other first responders, has good and bad days, children, finances, and sometimes attitudes.
Cameras are an equalizer, and they should always be in operation to keep people honest. As a former firefighter/paramedic/safety inspector, I was consistently called out of my name by a citizen who set his German Shepherd on me because he didn't like the fact that I was inspecting his property for violations. I was trapped in a building by five white males who were threatening to kill me, and it was only the squawking of my radio that got me out of that situation.
The dilemma and issue lie in the fact that as a black man in uniform, I have been the minority in nearly every position where I have been employed. I have lived a work-life where there was always a difference between white males wearing the same uniform as me. Having served my country in war and this city in some of the worst times, I wish I truly knew how my country and city feel about me. My only wish is that I had a camera to record those scenes of violence with dogs and human aggression based on my skin color.
I was filmed multiple times by citizens, and I didn't mind one bit. While on the street, I defended my partners and myself from harm and possible death in a couple of situations. Talk doesn't help when you have someone holding a knife, and they are lunging forward to kill you. It is not a must that you watch videos on FaceBook when these videos are uploaded but recognize that before Rodney King and the Civil Rights Movement, there was no proof of the abuse that we received at the hands of rogue police officers or white women who use their fragility to bring an elevated response from the authorities. I remember police officers who garnered names such as "Bat-man" because he utilized his baton to hit black males who were not breaking the law. The choice to look at a video on FaceBook rests with you, but, it will be out there for the world to see because "the eyes have it."
Dr. Lewis is the Pastor of Expanding Visions Ministries and, Executive Director of Expanding Visions Foundation.
